Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or Beehiiv: Which ESP is right for you?

If you're a creator looking to own your audience and sell more through email, there are only three ESPs (Email Service Providers) I recommend: Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or Beehiiv.

Each one is different. Depending on what you're trying to do, all three have pros and cons, which I'll get into below.

One thing before I get started though: picking the right ESP matters a lot. Don't take this step lightly. Once you start using an ESP, it can be really hard to switch. This is especially true if you've built a bunch of automations and need to keep historical reports.

Take time to understand what you're getting into. Find the ESP that suits your needs and, most importantly, that can grow with you.

With that out of the way, let's look at our three options, starting with the OG: Mailchimp.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp has been around for over two decades now. They've been important in the growing, evolving, and maturing newsletter space. They led on all fronts and brought email newsletters into the mainstream. They set the standard and, to this day, are an incredibly viable option for hosting your newsletter.

Pros

Their free tier is solid, which makes it a great entry point for creators, startups, and small businesses. They have a huge library of integrations with third-party apps and services. And their tools for email marketing are broad, with automation and reporting being the real standouts.

Cons

Simply put, Mailchimp's pricing is complex and costly. As you grow, you might find yourself paying an arm and a leg just to maintain your list. There's also a steep learning curve for new users, even with all those tools and features. And while support is available on the free tier, it's minimal compared to what paying customers get.

I've used Mailchimp for years and I'm relatively happy with the service. It's expensive, but their automation and integrations make it easy to plug into my business. I've thought about moving on from them, but I'm burrowed deeply into their ecosystem (a.k.a. I don't want to rebuild dozens of automations.)

Honestly, if I were starting from scratch, I'd consider using ConvertKit or Beehiiv over Mailchimp. But if you need industry-leading integrations, Mailchimp is the standard.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit was founded in 2013 around one thing: creators. In the past decade, they've improved their messaging and ESP features. They now serve people who create and sell products and services.

There are four main principles ConvertKit pledges to help creators with:

Grow your audience
Send beautiful emails
Automate your marketing
Earn an income

Pros

They tailor their features exclusively to the needs of creators, bloggers, solopreneurs, and others in creative careers. Their automation and segmentation tools are powerful, making it easy to send the right message to the right person at the right time. They also have integrated landing pages and form builders, so you can start collecting emails right away.

Cons

Some of their features and tools can be overwhelming at first, especially if you're coming from a more traditional ESP. Their email design features are getting better but still feel limited. You might want to bring your own templates for anything complex. And while not as expensive as Mailchimp, ConvertKit's pricing can still be confusing and cost more than other ESPs out there. Keep this in mind if you plan to grow quickly with paid or aggressive organic methods.

ConvertKit has become the de facto ESP for creators. They've grabbed that market and served that audience with real value and tools to make growth easier. ConvertKit has excellent leadership and is growing every year. You can't go wrong setting up shop on their servers.

Beehiiv

And now we have the young upstart. Beehiiv was founded by the second hire at Morning Brew (enough said). Taking many of the lessons learned from scaling that publication, Beehiiv has leveled the newsletter playing field for the rest of us.

Beehiiv is packed with exciting features. It has a built-in website for your newsletter, custom automations, a referral program, boosts, an ad network, subscriptions, content gating, and more.

There's A LOT to like about Beehiiv. It's a solid option, especially if you're starting out and intend to write a simple, text-based email newsletter. But that's where Beehiiv breaks down for me. I'll share more about this in a minute.

Pros

It's 100% designed with publishers in mind. To quote their home page, Beehiiv is "the newsletter platform built by newsletter people." They focus heavily on making sure emails actually reach the inbox with high deliverability rates. No one does this to the extent Beehiiv does.

Their pricing is also really compelling. They have a $0 Launch plan with a lot of upside. Things get interesting when you hit the Grow plan: $42/mo for up to 10,000 subscribers and a TON of unique features. This is unheard of in the ESP community.

Cons

Because they're new, they have fewer integrations than other ESPs in the space. This will change with time (hopefully), but for now, it's the reality. Beehiiv primarily serves newsletter delivery, but it does come at the expense of some audience management and segmentation features that come standard with Mailchimp and ConvertKit.

And the biggest con, in my opinion, is the lack of email design customization. They essentially have one style of text-based email design, and let's just say it's lacking polish. If you're a design-forward creator like me, it might be a deal-breaker (it is for me.)

But Beehiiv's offering is so good that I log in every month to see if the email designer is better or if I can live with what they offer. So far, the answer has been "no" to both, but I'm still considering jumping to Beehiiv this year.

If you can get past having little control of your newsletter design output, Beehiiv is a fantastic option. They're shipping new features fast. As of last disclosure, they'd already hit $3m ARR in 18 months (this number is likely much higher now.) They've raised capital and are set to make big waves in the ESP space.

The final verdict

Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and Beehiiv are the three ESPs worth your time, attention, and money.

Mailchimp is solid but can be pricey. I've been happy with the service, but I'm actively looking to switch this year because of the cost.

ConvertKit is creator-driven, making it easy to build on their platform. The pricing can sometimes be confusing, but you can be confident in the platform and features you get.

Beehiiv is a startup that's really pushing the envelope on what newsletters can be. Their features are next-level and the pricing is fantastic. If they were to focus a little more on design, they'd be a no-brainer for me.

I hope this helps you pick the ESP that suits your needs. Do all your research upfront before pulling the trigger, because it can be really hard to unwind your list from an email platform once you're in.

If you have any questions about any of these ESPs, don't hesitate to shoot me a note on X.